R. Stevie Moore / Jason Falkner – Make It Be

For a rock/punk/spoken word/experimental hybrid, Make it Be sounds surprisingly… just like you would expect it to. A collaboration between 60s DIY pioneer Moore and former Jellyfish member Falkner, the album runs the gamut from the likes of I H8 Ppl – which wouldn’t be out of place on a Hold Steady record – through the Syd Barrett-y I Love Us, We Love Me to genuine oddities like Gower (Theme from a Scene) (imagine an instrumental offcut from The National’s Boxer album) and Strictly Prohibited (the talky bit at the start of The Hombres' Let It All Hang Out, only without a killer song to follow it). 

In lots of ways it’s the gift that keeps giving. Ever wondered what it would be like if Stan Lee fronted a garage punk paean to the post office? Wonder no more. You just have to listen to Stamps. There is psychedelia (Horror Show), ELO-style pop (Sincero Amore) and Kraftwerk-style electronica (That’s Fine, What Time?). There’s even a spirited cover of Huey Piano Smith and The Clowns’ Don’t You Just Know It, which is the kind of hilarious ramshackle call and response you can imagine Green Day doing live, at that point in the gig where you're looking at your watch and wondering if it's ok to leave.

It’s a melange, then, the kind of thing likely to drive most people half mad. If you’ve followed either Moore or Falkner, it’s certainly a curio. Everyone else – life is way too short.  

Listen to: I H8 Ppl, Don't You Just Know It